Supporting WWU student employees

Dear Student Employees, 

Thank you for your continued dedication and contributions to the Western Washington University community. I want to personally acknowledge the many emails we’ve received, and the testimony shared at the recent Board of Trustees meeting regarding protections and working conditions for operational student employees. We take these concerns very seriously and recognize how vital student employees are to the university’s operations and campus life. 

I’m pleased that at the beginning of this academic year we were able to increase wages for student employees to ensure pay equity across all student employment positions, and we will continue to uphold equal pay for all student employees going forward. We continue to be committed to providing appropriate services for all student employees, ensuring you are paid for and have access to all required training, including anti-harassment and discrimination training, and are provided critical employee services such as mental health support for employees who are impacted by traumatic events. 

All student employee complaints—including those related to safety or harassment—have been, and will continue to be, addressed through the university’s standard procedures. If you believe this is not the case, please contact me directly at president@wwu.edu, and I will ensure the matter is promptly addressed.  

We understand that ensuring fair and safe working conditions is not a one-time effort, but an ongoing responsibility. As we move forward, we will continue to evaluate our policies and practices to uphold fairness, transparency, and respect in the student workplace. 

I also want to acknowledge that there is interest among operational student employees in forming a union similar to our educational student employees’ union. Western fully supports the rights of all employees to collectively bargain and has actively supported proposed legislation in the state legislature that would grant bargaining rights to operational student employees. Unfortunately, the bill did not pass the Legislature this year, and while we will not recognize the bargaining unit prior to the passage of the enabling legislation, we will continue to advocate for it in the upcoming 2026 Legislative Session. 

Thank you again for your advocacy, your hard work, and your commitment to making Western a better place for all.   

Sincerely, 
Sabah Randhawa 
President